The present invention relates to a universal medical work station, particularly for controlling and conducting shock wave therapy involving the comminution of kidney stones, gall stones, and concrements of like nature, under further utilization of X-ray and ultrasonic diagnostics and locating practice, as well as treatment, but the station should be useful also for general check-ups, tests, and the like, particularly of a urological nature.
Kidney stone and gall stone lithotripsy is a field of increasing importance. It involves pre-treatment, treatment, and post-treatment phases requiring certain manipulations of the patient. For example, the pre-treatment phase includes the detection and locating of the concrements to be comminuted, followed by the treatment which requires very accurate positioning of the destroying equipment vis-a-vis the object being comminuted, and the post-operative phases includes certain check-ups and the like, in order to see and to evaluate the success of the treatment.
In each of these phases it is required to have the patient in a particular position and he or she has to be manipulated, particularly as far as positions are concerned. The same is true for any general, urological check-up and treatment, which also require the patient to be analogously placed in different positions. Also, in the case of general urological tests, the application of X-ray and of ultra sonic equipment is common practice. In order to treat the various body parts from many even directions, it is necessary to relocate the patient. This is, for example, the case following immediately a process of destroying, for example, kidney stones. Here, an X-ray is to be taken in order to determine whether or not the treatment was successful and can, thus, be terminated. The equipment for taking the X-ray should be spatially separated from the lithotriptor and this, in turn, requires relocating of the patient. Particular problems exist in the fact that X-ray equipment and shock wave equipment are generally quite far apart from each other in order to avoid physical interference. Hence, relocating of the patient, possibly several times, is necessary. Broadly speaking, in the past it was merely recognized that extensive multiple equipment is required, e.g. for lithotripsy; each doing its own thing. But it must be recognized that the procedure is, in fact, a continuous one and multiple steps are to be taken in a coordinated fashion, without mutual interference.